Angelo Mathews, the former captain of the Sri Lankan team and the senior player of the team, said that the Sri Lankan team has brought down the entire nation and that the batsmen will take all the responsibility.
Mathews said that as a team they were all in serious trouble and once again apologized to the audience, saying that as players they did not do justice to themselves and violated the expectations of a nation.
Mathews said this today while addressing the media at the press conference held before the match between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands tomorrow. He said:
“I think first of all we’ve let the entire nation down and we are sorry because we’ve let ourselves down, We never expected this. I mean we’ve had a lot of challenges but they’re nothing to be sad about. But, unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the Super Round. .”
Mathews also spoke about the importance of finishing the World Cup by winning the Netherlands match.
“It’s very important. I don’t think we can take any team lightly. We saw how tough Nepal played against the South African team. However, it’s a pity that the match between Sri Lanka and Nepal cannot be held. But now We have only one more match in the tournament and we are praying for our pride.”
He said that he did not do justice to himself.
“Looking at the way we played in the first two games, we didn’t do ourselves justice. It’s very unfortunate. We are in a serious shock. But tomorrow is another day. We have to play against the Netherlands.”
“Netherlands are a very dangerous team so we hope to play well and beat them. No team can be taken lightly in this format. I mean teams like that have nothing to lose, so they can’t be taken lightly, especially in the last few years in this tournament. We have seen the bottom teams beat the top teams. They have played very good cricket in the last few years, they have a very balanced team.”
A journalist asked: “Angie, you are the most senior player in the Sri Lankan team. Where did the Sri Lankan team go wrong this time?”
“We are very sorry that our hopes have been destroyed. We ask for forgiveness. We could not fulfill the tasks we had as a team. We fell behind as batsmen. Even the small number of runs scored by the bowlers and keepers gave a good match. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win a single game.”
“If we lose even one match in a tournament like this, I think it will be very difficult to advance. After losing the first two matches, it was very difficult for us to advance. Meanwhile, unfortunately, the Nepal match was also interrupted by rain.”
What do you say to the audience? Are they frustrated?
“Definitely. The fans support us very lovingly no matter where they are in the world. The people here also support us in every way they can. They have to say sorry to us. None of us try to lose a game. We always try to win a game.”
“How upset are you about this loss?” asked the media.
“We are very disappointed. I have never traveled so much in a World Cup in my career. But that is not an excuse. It is about the reality. We and the Netherlands are playing in different places. I think that is not an excuse. This is the most traveled World Cup in my sports life, but the hopes of our team and the hopes of the country could not be fulfilled.
Of course, we are behind. Looking at the way we played against Bangladesh before the World Cup and the way we played against Zimbabwe in Afghanistan, we did not do justice to our abilities in this tournament. When you come to a World Cup, no team can be taken lightly. But we have a lot of regrets about the way we played against those teams before the World Cup and then the way we played here. Gates are completely different. But we did not do justice to ourselves. Matthews said.
